Quatro Bio World

Renewable Fuel Crop.

Renewable fuels are fuels produced from renewable resources. Examples include: biofuels (eg. Vegetable oil used as fuel, ethanol, methanol from biomass, orbiodiesel and Hydrogen fuel (when produced with renewable processes). This is in contrast to non-renewable fuels such as natural gas, LPG (propane), petroleum and other fossil fuels and nuclear energy. Renewable fuels can include fuels that are synthesized from renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar. Renewable fuels have gained in popularity due to their sustainability, low contributions to the carbon cycle, and in some cases lower amounts of greenhouse gases. The geo-political ramifications of these fuels are also of interest, particularly to industrialized economies which desire independence from Middle Eastern oil.
Hubbert's peak oil theory suggests that petroleum is a finite resource that is rapidly depleting. Of the worldwide total remaining petroleum reserves of approximately 1,277,702,000,000 barrels (about one half of the original virgin reserves) and a worldwide usage rate of 25,000,000,000 per year, only about 50 years worth of petroleum is predicted to remain at the current depletion rate. Petroleum is imperative for the following industries: fuel (home heating, jet fuel, gasoline, diesel, etc.) transportation, agriculture, pharmaceutical, plastics/resins, man-made fibers, synthetic rubber, and explosives. If the modern world remains reliant on petroleum as a source of energy, the price of crude oil could increase markedly, destabilizing economies worldwide. Consequently, renewable fuel drivers include: high oil prices, imbalance of trade, instability in oil exporting regions of the world, the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the potential for windfall profits for American farmers and industries, avoidance of economic depression, avoidance of scarcity of products due to a volatile ‘peak oil’ scenario expected to begin as early as 2021, (though peak oil is not a new idea) and a slowing of global warming that may usher in unprecedented climate change. Furthermore, the global debate on climate change, along with regional geopolitical instabilities have challenged nations to act to develop both alternative and carbon-neutral sources of energy.
Renewable fuels are therefore becoming attractive to many governments, who are beginning to see sustainable energy independence as a valuable asset.

Source: Wikipedia

The PS10 concentrates sunlight from a field of heliostats on a central tower.

Solar power is the generation of electricity from sunlight. This can be direct as with photovoltaics (PV), or indirect as with concentrating solar power (CSP), where the sun's energy is focused to boil water which is then used to provide power. Solar power had the potential to provide over 1,000 times total world energy consumption in 2008,[citation needed] though it provided 0.02% of the total that year. If it continues to double in use every two to three years, or less, it would become the dominant energy source this century. The largest solar power plants, like the 354 MW SEGS, are concentrating solar thermal plants, but recently[clarification needed] multi-megawatt photovoltaic plants have been built. Completed in 2008, the 46 MW Moura photovoltaic power station in Portugal and the 40 MW Waldpolenz Solar Park in Germany appear to be characteristic of the trend toward larger photovoltaic power stations. Larger ones are proposed, such as the 100 MW Fort Peck Solar Farm[citation needed], the 550 MW Topaz Solar Farm, and the 600 MW Rancho Cielo Solar Farm.

Terrestrial solar power is a predictably intermittent energy source, meaning that whilst solar power is not available at all times, we can predict with a very good degree of accuracy when it will and will not be available. Some technologies, such as solar thermal concentrators have an element of thermal storage, such as molten salts. These store spare solar energy in the form of heat which can be made available overnight or during periods that solar power is not available to produce electricity. Orbital solar power collection (as in solar power satellites) avoids this intermittent issue, but requires satellite launching and beaming of the collected power to receiving antennas on Earth. The increased intensity of sunlight above the atmosphere also increases generation efficiency.

Source: Wikipedia

Solar troughs are the most widely deployed.

A legend claims that Archimedes used polished shields to concentrate sunlight on the invading Roman fleet and repel them from Syracuse.
Augustin Mouchot used a parabolic trough to produce steam for the first solar steam engine in 1866.

Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) systems use lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. The concentrated heat is then used as a heat source for a conventional power plant. A wide range of concentrating technologies exists; the most developed are the parabolic trough, the concentrating linear fresnel reflector, the Stirling dish and the solar power tower. Various techniques are used to track the Sun and focus light. In all of these systems a working fluid is heated by the concentrated sunlight, and is then used for power generation or energy storage.

A parabolic trough consists of a linear parabolic reflector that concentrates light onto a receiver positioned along the reflector's focal line. The receiver is a tube positioned right above the middle of the parabolic mirror and is filled with a working fluid. The reflector is made to follow the Sun during the daylight hours by tracking along a single axis. Parabolic trough systems provide the best land-use factor of any solar technology. The SEGS plants in California and Acciona's Nevada Solar One near Boulder City, Nevada are representatives of this technology. The Suntrof-Mulk parabolic trough, developed by Melvin Prueitt, uses a technique inspired by Archimedes' principle to rotate the mirrors.

Source: Wikipedia

Livestock ignore wind turbines, and continue to graze as they did before wind turbines were installed.

Compared to the environmental effects of traditional energy sources, the environmental effects of wind power are relatively minor. Wind power consumes no fuel, and emits no air pollution, unlike fossil fuel power sources. The energy consumed to manufacture and transport the materials used to build a wind power plant is equal to the new energy produced by the plant within a few months of operation. Garrett Gross, a scientist from the University of Missouri–Kansas City, states, "The impact made on the environment is very little when compared to what is gained." While a wind farm may cover a large area of land, many land uses such as agriculture are compatible.
Danger to birds and bats has been a concern in many locations. Some[who?] dismiss the number of birds killed by wind turbines as negligible when compared to the number that die as a result of other human activities, and especially when considering the adverse environmental impacts of using non-clean power sources. Others strongly disagree about the placement of wind farms. New evidence suggests that the critically endangered California Condor is being killed at the Tehachapi Pass wind farm in Southern California. Bat species appear to be at risk during key movement periods. Almost nothing is known about current populations of these species and the impact on bat numbers as a result of mortality at windpower locations. Offshore wind sites 10 km or more from shore do not interact with bat populations, but researchers are concerned if there are nearby bird colonies.
Aesthetics have also been an issue in some areas. In the USA, the Massachusetts Cape Wind project was delayed for years chiefly because of nearby residents' aesthetic concerns. In the UK, repeated opinion surveys have shown that more than 70% of people either like, or do not mind, the visual impact. According to a town councillor in Ardrossan, Scotland, the overwhelming majority of locals believe that the Ardrossan Wind Farm has enhanced the area. They say the turbines are impressive looking and bring a calming effect to the town.

Source: Wikipedia

Stirling engine capable of producing electricity from biomass combustion heat.

Bioenergy is renewable energy made available from materials derived from biological sources. In its most narrow sense it is a synonym to biofuel, which is fuel derived from biological sources. In its broader sense it includes biomass, the biological material used as a biofuel, as well as the social, economic, scientific and technical fields associated with using biological sources for energy. This is a common misconception, as bioenergy is the energy extracted from the biomass, as the biomass is the fuel and the bioenergy is the energy contained in the fuel.
Biomass is any organic material which has stored sunlight in the form of chemical energy. As a fuel it may include wood, wood waste, straw, manure, sugar cane, and many other byproducts from a variety of agricultural processes.
There is a slight tendency for the word bioenergy to be favoured in Europe compared with biofuel in North America.
Biomass is material derived from recently living organisms, which includes plants, animals and their byproducts. Manure, garden waste and crop residues are all sources of biomass. It is a renewable energy source based on the carbon cycle, unlike other natural resources such as petroleum, coal, and nuclear fuels.

Source: Wikipedia

A Bio Diesle Beetle Rental Car.

An alternative fuel vehicle is a vehicle that runs on a fuel other than "traditional" petroleum fuels (petrol or diesel); and also refers to any technology of powering an engine that does not involve solely petroleum (e.g. electric car, hybrid electric vehicles, solar powered). Because of a combination of factors, such as environmental concerns, high oil prices and the potential for peak oil, development of cleaner alternative fuels and advanced power systems for vehicles has become a high priority for many governments and vehicle manufacturers around the world. Hybrid electric vehicles such as the Toyota Prius are not actually alternative fuel vehicles, but through advanced technologies in the electric battery and motor/generator, they make a more efficient use of petroleum fuel. Other research and development efforts in alternative forms of power focus on developing all-electric and fuel cell vehicles, and even the stored energy of compressed air. By December 2009 there were more than 35 million alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles in the world roads, representing around 5% of the world's automobile fleet. This alternative fuel fleet is made up mainly of: * 19.1 million flexible-fuel vehicles by 2009, led by Brazil with 9.3 million, followed by the United States (around 9 million), Canada (600,000), and Europe, led by Sweden (181,458)


Biodiesel
The main benefit of Diesel combustion engines is that they have a 44% fuel burn efficiency; compared with just 25-30% in the best gasoline engines. In addition diesel fuel has slightly higher Energy Density by volume than gasoline. This makes Diesel engines capable of achieving much better fuel economy than gasoline vehicles.

Source: Wikipedia